“I know you won’t hurt her again, for anyone who has ever met Charlie knows - to know Charlie is to love her. No one would purposely cause that girl pain.”
“Wait…” I was shocked at his answer.
“I’m not stupid, Edwards. I do know what it’s like to love someone. I get it, you love my daughter and you want to marry her. You think Charlie would allow me to disapprove of this relationship? Please, her and Debbie alone would gang up on me with all their ‘I am woman hear me roar’ mumbo jumbo. And to top that off, my ex-wife would be on the next plane over probably stabbing a voodoo doll with pins chanting destroy Mark.”
I laughed unexpectedly. What else could I do in a situation like this, he understood. He wanted the best for his daughter; I was the best for his daughter.
I rambled on about my intentions, the exact plan. Yes, finally I had a plan, and it was perfect.
“That’s a lot of stuff going on for one day. How the hell do you expect to pull that off?”
“I have our friends working on it; all I need from you is to pretend this conversation never happened.”
I said our friends… is this what it was like to be normal? Shit Lex, you fucking soft cock, I thought to myself.
“Deal, but you’re sleeping in separate rooms while you are under my roof.”
“If Charlotte agrees.” She would never agree, she was a walking horn-dog but hey, who was I to complain?
He stood up and walked over to his nightstand and pulled out the drawer. He reached in to retrieve something; it was his checkbook. “Tell me how much the wedding is and I’ll pay.”
“Sir…”
“Cut the ‘Sir’ crap, Edwards. I’m still getting laid three times a week by my girlfriend. I ain’t that old.”
Right… awkward.
“Okay, Mark… listen you don’t need to pay a cent. It’s all taken care of.”
“It’s tradition, father of the bride pays.”
“I don’t mean to sound arrogant but I could pay for the wedding with an hour’s worth of work. I don’t want to offend you, but it’s peanuts to my bank account.”
He looked hurt, which I failed to understand since it meant he didn’t have to take out a second mortgage on his home. “If you want to help, there is plenty to do, like explaining the whole thing to your ex-wife and making sure she gets here in time.”
“Fuck, that’s a lot to ask. Maria and Debbie in the same house? God, what if they start comparing my technique and shit?” he complained.
I laughed and he laughed along with me, before he held out his hand and I shook it.
I left Mark’s house, pleased that I had him on board ‘Project Marry Charlotte Mason’. There was one more person I had to see before I left Carmel- Logan.
I knocked on the door; taking a deep breath I knew this would be a battle. An attractive lady answered the door, I remembered her from prom.
“May I help you?” She looked at me intensely; I was certain she had recognized me.
“I was after Logan.”
“Alex? I mean Lex? I mean…sorry, I can’t remember what Charlie…”
I smiled, she relaxed almost instantly. “I prefer Lex, sorry, I didn’t mean to just show up unannounced.”
“Sorry! Excuse my scatter brain, please come inside. I’m Jen by the way.” She held the door open.
“We’ve met, at prom. Are you sure? It might be best that I wait outside.”
“Oh, Logan won’t be home for another half an hour, please come in, but I’m warning you, the kids won’t leave you alone.”
I followed and took a seat in her living room. Minutes later a little girl walked in; she would have been maybe five.